Ms Reid said in a statement earlier this week that she had no reason to suspect her husband may have broken the law following his arrest on suspicion of spying for China
Labour MP Joani Reid said she has voluntarily suspended herself from the Labour whip until internal investigations are concluded after her husband was arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
Ms Reid, the MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven, who is not personally under investigation or accused of wrongdoing, said she was “voluntarily suspending herself” from Sir Keir Starmer’s party. Her statement comes a day after news broke that her husband David Taylor was one of the three men arrested on suspicion of spying for China.
The politician as said she will “not sit as a Labour MP” until a probe was concluded, and a spokesperson for the Labour Party said she was “co-operating fully” with the investigation.
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She said in her statement that the week has been “the worst of my life” and “difficult”, but stressed that she has “done nothing wrong”. She said: “This week has been the worst of my life. The shock of recent days has been difficult for me and my family. I want to reiterate something very important: I am not under investigation by the police and no accusations have been against me.
“I have done nothing wrong. I love my country. To serve the people of East Kilbride and Strathaven as their MP and the Labour Party has been – and continues to be – the privilege of my life.
“I understand that speculation and gossip is fevered at a time like this. I do not want the circumstances that I and my family find ourselves in to be a distraction for this government, of which I am proud and in whom I believe.” A Labour Party spokesperson said: “Joani Reid has agreed to fully cooperate with the Labour Party’s investigation into these matters.”
Mr Taylor, 39, Matthew Alpin, 43, and Steve Jones, 48, were all accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service, and were released on bail on Thursday.
Mr Jones has been identified as a former special adviser for the Welsh Government, while Mr Aplin is a former press officer for Labour. All three of the men were arrested by counter-terrorism place at addresses in London and Wales on Wednesday, with Ms Reid quick to say she was “not part of” her husband’s business acrivities.
Police said they searched the addresses of where the three men were arrested, and additional properties in London, East Kilbride and Cardiff.
The trio have been bailed until a date in May, and investigators will continue their enquiries in the mean time, with the Met saying its officers were supported by Scottish and Welsh counter-terror police. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said following the arrests that there was not related “imminent or direct threat”.
